Our new Gallery exhibition, Sequences and Consequences, opening on September 1, 2006 and continuing through September 30, reflects the influence of language on visual imagery. The work of over twenty visual artists is featured.

Last year when the arts community decided to celebrate Chestertown’s 300th Birthday with a month long celebration of art and poetry, (go see www.kentcountyartscouncil.org for more information) Larry and I embraced this theme as a starting point for our Fall Exhibition. We have learned over the years to give artists as much leeway as possible when suggesting shows with “themes,” and for months just referred to the exhibit as the “word” show. Finally Gallery artist Ebby Malmgren conjured the title from a memory of a workshop given by poet Jean Nordhaus. Sequences and Consequences became the given name and the results have been magical for all involved. Freed from the constraint of any one interpretation, the artists’ creative endeavors spread in many different directions.

Sculptor Miriam Martincic’s Embrace evolved directly from a poem by Billy Collins. Photographer Anne Nielsen’s portfolio of butterflies in platinum was inspired by the work of writer and lepidopterist Vladamir Nabokov, while David Hewson drew on the words of Voltaire for his painting. Joanne Scott, Nancy Thompson Brown and Ebby Malmgren, are poets as well as visual artists; they incorporate their personal visions in paintings, prints, and handmade books. Melissa Zink has drawn inspiration from the “word” throughout her life; in addition to her work in Sequences and Consequences, she will be honored with a retrospective: “Melissa Zink, The Enchantment of Language,” at the Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, New Mexico from September 22 to December 30, 2006.

Robin Braun, Cynthia Burke, Jessie Pollock and Anne Leighton Massoni invite us to imagine our own stories as we study their works. When selecting the pieces, I found myself mining my memory bank, recalling cherished poems, and harking back to ancient storytelling and myths.

Linda Richards’ awe-inspiring images of the universe and the natural world have a new dimension as a result of her recent move. “Living in Mexico,” she writes, “amid the volcanic mountains, life is closer to the bone, and affirms my belief in the unplumbed force of nature.”

Elizabeth DaCosta Ahern, who recently returned from Angola where she was honored as a visiting artist with the Art in Embassies program of the United States State Department, was truly puzzled when invited to participate. “What can I do with words” she said. “Even my journals from the trip are images!” You will be intrigued by the results!

Martha Oatway took the assignment literally and gathered words and images from three generations to create her monoprints.

My personal favorite was Heidi Fowler’s response. She dropped a transformer into a garden reminiscent of Eden and wrote across the sky. Words have the ability to transform. Art changes everything. Come with a spirit of adventure. The work is marvelous!